(USATODAY.com) - Rescue workers in Bangladesh say they have found a female survivor buried amid the wreckage of a garment factory building that collapsed 17 days ago.

The survivor, named Reshma, was found in the basement of the now flattened nine-story building. She is now waiting for rescue, reportsThe Daily Star,a local Bangladesh newspaper.

Rescuers have given her water and a biscuit, and an ambulance has been waiting near the site to take her to the hospital.

Army officials first ordered workers to stop clearing the site with bulldozers and cranes as they tried to free a woman they said might still be alive. A soldier at the scene said rescuers found a woman in the debris and she waved her hand in response to them.

"As we made an announcement before starting to break the slab asking whether there was anyone alive in there, we heard someone groan," said a rescuer whose name could not be heard, according toThe Daily Star.

Rescuers used a handsaw, welding and drilling equipment to try to cut through iron rod and debris to free her. They asked for a small oxygen cylinder to be brought to the site.

Workers at the site had been clearing the rubble since the collapse April 24. More than 2,500 people were rescued in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. However, no survivors had been found in the wreckage since the days after the collapse.